Opponents of the ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have said they could take to the streets if the government led by his sister tried to push through an amnesty that would let him return from exile a free man.

The government refused to confirm there was any such plan and Mr Thaksin himself played down the idea from his home in Dubai, where he chooses to live rather than return to serve a two-year jail term for abuse of power.

Mr Thaksin was ousted by the military in 2006. The People's Alliance for Democracy, whose "yellow shirt" supporters undermined Mr Thaksin's government with massive street rallies before the military coup, said the reported amnesty would let Mr Thaksin off scot-free.